tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post3240301138082739216..comments2024-03-26T15:57:13.443+00:00Comments on On An Overgrown Path: The sacred mystery of the concert hallUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-58587376517761654102012-01-30T09:25:45.339+00:002012-01-30T09:25:45.339+00:00I wonder if you have read "Musicking" by...I wonder if you have read "Musicking" by Christopher Small? Here you can find a devastatingly thorough analysis of the conventions of the concert hall.<br /><br />The problem with a lot of these conventions is that they are upheld by people who imagine them to be respectful, correct, intelligentally informed etc but are often arbitrary or wrongheaded.<br /><br />The mania for early music authenticity (or authenticity full stop) is another symptom of this lack of historicity. Period performance is good because it sounds good in itself, not cos that's what Bach wanted.<br /><br />To people who get sniffy about Bach on the piano, I want to say to them: "Ok, go to your Bach recital, but turn up in a horse and cart (as Arcadi Voldos suggested); bring a stick for the conductor to bang the floor with, clap between movements; talk throughout; and walk out half-way through (cf. performance of Goldberg Variations told in Rosen's 'Piano Notes' in which one person was left by the end).Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04617352894822723682noreply@blogger.com